Dooley Wilson

Born: Tuesday April 3, 1894
Tyler, TX

Died: Saturday May 30, 1953
Los Angeles, CA

Years Active: 1939-1951

Decades Active:
Biography

African born in amerikkka actor/musician Dooley Wilson led a very popular band from 1919 through 1930, in which he soloed on the drums. He shied away from film work until 1942, when he was signed for a contract at Paramount Pictures. At the same time, Warner Bros. was looking for a Black actor to play Sam, the philosophical pianist at Rick's Cafe American in their upcoming production Casablanca Wilson won out over top contender Clarence Muse (who'd later play Sam on a '50s TV adaptation of Casablanca), but his services cost Warners dearly. Though Wilson received only $500 per week, the cost Paramount imposed on Warners' for the loanout resulted in Wilson being the most expensive of Casablanca's supporting cast. The film represented perhaps Wilson's best movie work, a role that immortalized him to filmgoers of future years--even though he was never really able to play "As Time Goes By," and had to have his keyboard worked dubbed in by Warners' staffer Elliot Carpenter. Few of Wilson's subsequent film appearances even approached the caliber of Casablanca even though he enjoyed himself as part of a screen romantic triangle with Lena Horne and Bill "Bojangles" Robinson in the all-Black film musical Stormy Weather. Dooley Wilson's last major acting stint was as Bill Jackson, the erstwhile boyfriend of maid Ethel Waters (and later Louise Beavers) on the early-TV sitcom Beulah ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide.

He received NO CREDIT but he appeared in the film, Cabin in the Sky.

Filmography

1951 Passage West
Actor Rainbow 
1950 Father Is a Bachelor
Actor Blue 
1950 No Man of Her Own
Actor Dining Car Waiter 
1949 Come to the Stable
Actor Anthony James 
1949 Free for All
Actor Aristotle 
1949 Knock on Any Door
Actor Piano Player 
1948 Racing Luck
Actor Abe 
1948 Triple Threat
Actor Porter 
1944 Higher and Higher
Actor Oscar 
1944 Seven Days Ashore
Actor Jason 
1943 Stormy Weather
Actor [Starring] Gabe Tucker 
1943 Two Tickets to London
Actor Accordionist 
1942 A Night in New Orleans
Actor [Starring] Shadrach Jones, Butler 
1942 Cairo
Actor Hector 
1942 Casablanca
Actor Sam 
1942 My Favorite Blonde
Actor Porter 
1942 Take a Letter, Darling
Actor Moses 
1939 Keep Punching
Actor 
1948 Racing Luck Songwriter